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Zimbabwe Won’t Charge Dentist Who Killed Cecil the Lion Zimbabwe Won’t Charge Dentist Who Killed Cecil the Lion
(about 9 hours later)
JOHANNESBURG — The government of Zimbabwe said Monday that it would not call for the extradition of an American dentist involved in the hunt that killed a lion known as Cecil because he had all the proper documentation for the hunt. JOHANNESBURG — Just this summer, Zimbabwe was pressing to extradite an American dentist involved in the hunt that killed a lion known as Cecil, with the environment minister denouncing him as a “foreign poacher” who had absconded home.
Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Zimbabwe’s environment minister, told reporters that the American hunter, Dr. Walter J. Palmer of Minnesota, would not be charged in the killing of the 13-year-old lion in July outside Hwange National Park in northwestern Zimbabwe. On Monday, it changed course, saying not only that the dentist would not be charged but that he was welcome to return. “He is free to come, not for hunting, but as a tourist,” Environment Minister Oppah Muchinguri said of the dentist, Dr. Walter J. Palmer of Minnesota.
“He is free to come, not for hunting, but as a tourist,” Ms. Muchinguri-Kashiri said, according to Reuters. The killing of the 13-year-old lion in July outside Hwange National Park in northwestern Zimbabwe set off a fierce outcry among animal rights advocates. Dr. Palmer, 55, an experienced big-game hunter, became the target of furious attacks on social media sites and closed his dental practice for more than a month.
In a news conference in July, Ms. Muchinguri-Kashiri described Dr. Palmer as a “foreign poacher” who had broken Zimbabwe’s laws. Zimbabwean officials initially said that Dr. Palmer and a professional hunting guide from Zimbabwe had illegally lured the lion out of its protected habitat onto a neighboring farm. But Zimbabwe said Monday that his documentation for the hunt had been proper, as he had said.
After looking into the circumstances of the hunt, Zimbabwe’s authorities did not make a formal extradition request by a deadline last month. Officials had initially reported that Dr. Palmer and a professional hunting guide had illegally lured Cecil out of his protected habitat onto a neighboring farm. At a news conference in July, Ms. Muchinguri described Dr. Palmer as a “foreign poacher” who had broken Zimbabwe’s laws.
Dr. Palmer, an experienced big game hunter, has said that he had the proper permits for the hunt and was unaware that the lion was being monitored by British researchers who had placed a tracking collar on the animal. Mr. Palmer, 55, who became the object of fierce attacks by animal rights activists, closed his dental practice for more than a month. The trial of the professional hunter, Theo Bronkhorst, who has also denied any wrongdoing, has been postponed twice. But Zimbabwe’s authorities declined to make a formal extradition request before a deadline last month. The trial of the professional hunter, Theo Bronkhorst, who has also denied any wrongdoing, has been postponed.
The killing of the lion, which was little known inside Zimbabwe itself, fueled anger on social media sites, especially in the West. Many airlines responded to the fury by banning the transport of animal trophies, which are prized by big-game hunters who typically pay tens of thousands of dollars to hunt lions and other big-game animals. Dr. Palmer has said he was unaware that British researchers were monitoring the lion. And amid the barrage of criticism, other voices pushed back. “We Don’t Cry for Lions” became a trending topic on Twitter after a Zimbabwean, Goodwell Nzou, included the phrase in a New York Times Op-Ed article, adding that “no lion has ever been beloved” in his village. “They are objects of terror,” he wrote.
Many African nations, as well as some conservationists, support trophy hunting as a way to finance the overall protection of wildlife. Many airlines responded to the fury by banning the transport of animal trophies, which are prized by big-game hunters. Many African nations, and some conservationists, support trophy hunting as a way to finance the overall protection of wildlife.